The Tittabawassee Township Police Department responded to the 300 block of N. Third Street shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday for reports of someone shooting at a pet cat.

The owners of the cat found their pet outside their residence with 3 inches of an arrow sticking out of his neck. Police said it had been shot with an arrow about 9 a.m.

The family took the cat to an emergency vet clinic, but the cat had to be euthanized.

The owner, who didn't want to be identified, said the killing of 2-year-old Jersey is the latest case of animal cruelty the quiet Freeland neighborhood has been through.

She said in the last month several cats have come up missing and two weeks ago a cat from a neighboring street was shot and killed with a pellet gun.

Billy Sheneman said something strange is going on in his neighborhood. He said someone is targeting and killing neighborhood cats.

"It's pretty sad that you can't even keep a cat anymore because it's probably going to go missing around here," he said.

Sheneman said his cat recently went missing and now another cat was killed with an arrow.

The neighbors are warning other cat owners that someone in the area is up to no good and want the person responsible off the streets before another pet gets hurt.

"It needs to stop because eventually it's going to get really out of hand," Sheneman said.

Lise Stoffel, director of the county animal care center, said the area along Third Street has been a hotbed for cat attacks.

"The only way that you can safeguard your animal from everything is to keep them in your home. Now do cats like being inside all day? No. I have cats as well that want to go outside, but I run the risk of coyote attacks, getting hit by car, attacked by a dog," she said.

Stoffel said there is friction between property owners and the growing population of cats in Freeland. She believes the only way to solve the problem is for owners to spade and neuter their pets.

Stoffel insists stunting the rampant growth of feral cats without killing them is a challenge they can conquer.

"As a community we have to come together to get some solutions for these cats," she said.

Police have identified a person of interest in the case. They are requesting anyone with information to call the department at 989-695-9623.

This Sept. 24, 2017, photo provided by Michael Kass shows Yann Arnaud during a Cirque du Soleil performance in Toronto. Arnaud died early Sunday, March 18, 2018, after falling while performing during a show on Saturday in Tampa, Fla. (Michael Kass via AP)

A Cirque du Soleil performer died Saturday night after he fell during a performance in Tampa, Florida.